Maryland Fishing Report – May 14

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Forecast Summary: May 14 – May 20:

Improving fishing weather lies ahead for this upcoming week with more stable, warm conditions for Chesapeake Bay waters. Main Bay surface water temperatures are now near 70 degrees. River temperatures are slightly cooler and in the lower 60s.

Due to recent rains, expect above average flows for most Maryland rivers and streams. However, the long-term rain deficit continues to result in Bay salinities that are still currently above average. There is also plenty of oxygen from surface to bottom for all Bay gamefish.

Expect reduced water clarity for the western shore from Severn to the Bush rivers from algal blooms. While most Maryland portions of the Bay and rivers will be clear, expect localized reductions in water clarity especially in the upper Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers from recent heavy rains. To see the latest water clarity conditions on NOAA satellite maps, check Eyes on the Bay Satellite Maps. There will be above average tidal currents through Sunday as a result of the full moon on May 13.

For more detailed and up-to-date fishing conditions in your area, be sure to check out Eyes on the Bay’s Click Before You Cast.

Upper Chesapeake Bay

Catch-and-release fishing for hickory shad in the lower Susquehanna is slowing down, as warm water temperatures have caused them to spawn and begin heading down the bay and back to the ocean. Chesapeake Channa are piling up at the Conowingo Dam pool and casting paddletails and a variety of other lures is a good way to get in on the action.

Fishing for white perch is very good in the lower Susquehanna this week. Anglers are having good luck by casting tandem rigged shad darts across current and working them close to the bottom. Placing small pieces of bloodworm or Gulp baits can help entice white perch to take interest in your shad darts. Using a bottom rig baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm works well also.

There are plenty of blue catfish to be found in the lower Susquehanna River, many of the other tidal rivers, and the upper reaches of the bay. Most cut bait works for blue catfish, white perch are easy to obtain, or you can purchase menhaden and sometimes gizzard shad at local bait shops. Other anglers have good luck with chicken parts and scented baits. Blue catfish are easy to fillet and once the silver skin and red meat is removed, you have some pure white fish that is mild and very versatile for a wide variety of recipes. Filets cut into ¾-inch pieces battered and deep fried with hushpuppies are hard to beat. 

Chesapeake Channa are in a very active feeding mode this month and anglers are enjoying good fishing opportunities in the tidal rivers and creeks of the upper Bay. They can often be found holding close to grass beds and various types of structure. Check the Maryland DNR calendar for Snakes on the Dundee, a Chesapeake Channa fishing tournament scheduled June 7 at  Gunpowder Falls State Park. Tournaments like these can provide fun fishing opportunities and educational information for anglers. 

This Friday, May 16, the first segment of the 2025 striped bass season will begin. DNR’s striped bass regulation map shows what areas are open, are catch & release only, or closed to striped bass fishing throughout the year. To help upper bay anglers better understand the boundaries May 16-31, we will include them here: 

Chesapeake Bay downstream from a line drawn from the south corner of Hart-Miller Island Dike to the end of MD Route 21 at Tolchester and south to the Maryland/Virginia state line, excluding all bays, sounds, tributaries, creeks and rivers. EXCEPT: Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound; Chester River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Hail Point to Long Point to Ferry Point; Patuxent River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Point Patience to the west point of land at the entrance of Little Kingston Creek; and Choptank River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Holland Point to a point of land at the west entrance of Chapel Creek are open.

Striped bass anglers are urged to report their catches and fish they release on our Volunteer Angler Survey. The information from anglers is very important to the striped bass program biologists working to protect the fishery. 

Anglers will be able to keep one striped bass measuring between 19 inches and 24 inches, with a one fish per day limit. Anglers fishing with live or other types of bait, or anyone chumming, must use non-offset circle hooks. Trolling will be a popular way to fish and umbrella rigs with bucktails dressed with twistertails or sassy shads and main channel edges will be good areas to target. Jigging along the same channel edges will be a good tactic when fish can be located on depth finders. The Bay Bridge piers are sure to get some attention from anglers during the morning and evening hours. The shallower waters of the Bay shores will also be great locations to cast paddletails, poppers, and jerkbaits.

Middle Bay

Striped bass anglers will be gearing up for the opening day of the 2025 striped bass season this coming Friday, May 16. Anglers need to be aware that these areas will remain closed for the next couple of weeks: Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound; Chester River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Hail Point to Long Point to Ferry Point; Patuxent River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Point Patience to the west point of land at the entrance of Little Kingston Creek; and Choptank River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Holland Point to a point of land at the west entrance of Chapel Creek are open.

Striped bass anglers are urged to report their catches and fish they release on the Volunteer Angler Survey. The information from anglers is very important to the striped bass program. 

Trolling along main channel edges with umbrella rigs behind heavy inline weights will be a popular way to fish; most will be using medium-sized bucktails dressed with soft plastics. Tandem rigged bucktails and swimshads will also be popular and will not need an excessive amount of weight. Only striped bass measuring between 19 inches and 24 inches can be kept so many anglers will adjust the size of their lures to accommodate that size fish.

Light tackle jigging will be popular along channel edges and where concentrations of striped bass can be found suspended. The warmwater discharge at the Calvert Cliffs Power Plant will always be a draw for some anglers. The rocks at Poplar Island, the Naval Academy and similar areas will be good places to cast paddletails and topwater lures during the morning and evening hours. 

White perch are moving into their typical summer habitat areas and are providing fun fishing from deepwater docks and piers. Fishing straight down near pilings with small jigs or one hook bottom rigs baited with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm is a great way to fish for them. The shallow water fishery for white perch is gaining momentum for those who enjoy casting small jigs, spinnerbaits and spinners along shorelines.

There is always a mix of channel and blue catfish to entertain anglers in the region’s tidal rivers. They can be found in every tidal river to some degree, but the Choptank River holds the greatest populations of blue catfish. The blue catfish in the Choptank tend to be found above the Dover Bridge area and the best fishing success is being reported to be from the mouth of the Tuckahoe to Denton. An ebbing tide offers the best fishing for those fishing cut bait with circle hooks and fish finder rigs. 

Chesapeake Channa can be found in every tidal river and creek within the middle bay region. The backwaters of the lower Dorchester County hold the greatest and most concentrated populations. Grass beds are filling out and this is where most Chesapeake Channa will be found. They are still in a pre-spawn mode of feeding activity. June will see them begin to spawn in the grass beds. Casting white paddletails, soft bodied frogs, chatterbaits and fishing large minnows under a bobber are good ways to fish for them.

The hickory shad catch-and-release fishery is ending in the Potomac River near Fletcher’s Landing and Mattawonan Creek, but there are still reports of American shad in the Potomac within the boundaries of the District of Columbia. 

Fishing for Chesapeake Channa remains good this month in the tributaries of the Potomac River, the Patuxent, Nanticoke, Wicomico, and Pocomoke rivers. Grass beds are filling out and the fish are holding close to them and are in a pre-spawn mode of feeding behavior. There will be a Chesapeake Channa and blue catfish fishing tournament on June 1 at the Anacostia River.

White perch can be found in the upper reaches of the tidal portion of the Potomac and casting tandem rigged shad darts is a good way to fish for them. The lower sections of the tidal creeks feeding into the Potomac, Patuxent and Eastern Shore rivers are also holding a lot of white perch. Some anglers are fishing with grass shrimp or pieces of bloodworm on bottom rigs and are also doing well on white perch.

This coming Friday, May 16, it all begins for striped bass anglers to get out on the Bay and enjoy what they love to fish for. The slot size remains 19 inches to 24 inches with a creel limit of one fish per day per angler in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The Patuxent River and its tributaries downstream of a line drawn from Point Patience to the west point of land at the entrance of Little Kingston Creek, Pocomoke Sound, and Tangier Sound will remain closed till June 1. The Potomac River will be open to striped bass fishing from May 16 through July 6, with a 19-24 inch slot, one fish per day limit. Virginia waters open on May 16 through June 15, with a 20-28 inch slot size, one fish per day limit. 

Striped bass anglers are urged to report their catches and fish they release on the Fisheries Volunteer Angler Survey. The information from anglers is very important to the striped bass program biologists. 

Trolling along the steeper main channel edges will be a popular way to fish for striped bass this weekend and a good way to cover plenty of water in search of striped bass. Due to the slot size requirement, many anglers will be deploying medium-sized lures. Umbrella rigs will be a popular choice behind heavy inline weights with bucktails dressed with soft plastic or swimshads to get down deep. Tandem rigged bucktails and swimshads will allow anglers to present lures at more moderate depths. 

Jigging is a good way to target striped bass that can be located with depth finders, suspended along steep channel edges. The steep channel edges are often where schools of bait will be swept along by the strong currents. Soft plastic jigs from a half-ounce to ¾-ounce are often used in various colors. If chumming or fishing with bait for striped bass is on your schedule, remember non-offset circle hooks are required, and the use of eels is prohibited. 

Black drum are being caught on the Eastern Shore side of the Bay in Tangier and Pocomoke sounds and near the Target ship. Soft crab baits lowered to drum that are located by depth finders is the most popular way to fish for them. Large red drum are expected soon along the eastern side of the Bay and anglers are catching the vanguard of the speckled trout arriving in the region’s shallower waters. 

Blue Crabs

Last week locust trees were blooming, which in Chesapeake Bay folklore announces the first shed of blue crabs. Recreational crabbers are starting to give trotlining and running collapsible crab traps a try at their favorite crabbing locations. The reports are a dozen crabs to a full bushel depending where one is crabbing. The lower Eastern Shore is currently providing the best catches. There are reports of a lot of small 3-4 inch crabs chewing up baits. Water depths of about 6 feet tend to offer the best catches.

Freshwater Fishing

The stocking of trout in many of the put-and-take trout management waters within the central, southern, and eastern regions has ended due to marginal water temperatures as the summer months approach. Plenty of holdover trout will reside in these areas and anglers casting small spinners, spoons, tiny jerkbaits and flies can still find trout that have dodged baits.

The western region and selected waters in the central region will continue to provide good trout fishing in the delayed harvest, the gear-restricted, and catch-and-release waters. These waters allow anglers to enjoy excellent trout fishing through all months of the year with peace and solitude.

Fishing at Deep Creek Lake is about as good as one could hope this month; water temperatures are ideal for various fish species and the summer vacation crowds are yet to arrive. Floating docks have been deployed and provide shade and structure for smallmouth and largemouth bass. Walleye can still be found along steep rocky shores and deep grass lines. 

A mix of smallmouth bass and walleye are entertaining anglers on the upper Potomac River this week. Water levels in the river are generally low and clear, gradually warming and grass beds are filling out. In many areas anglers can access good fishing by wading and casting a mix of swimbaits, crankbaits, flukes and tubes near current breaks and underwater ledges is providing good opportunities. 

There is still time for families to enjoy some of the youth fishing tournaments being held in Maryland for our young anglers to fish in a safe and fun environment. These events are usually held at community ponds and sponsored by community outreach groups and Maryland Fishing and Boating Services. The DNR website has a list of fishing rodeos throughout the state through fall.

In most tidal and nontidal waters of Maryland largemouth bass are actively spawning in shallower areas. Male largemouth bass have carved out spawning beds and are attending the females. The cooler waters of the western region usually place active spawning a week or so behind the other warmer waters of the other regions of the state.

Chesapeake Channa are becoming more prevalent in some of the reservoirs within the central region due to illegal bucket stockings and anglers will encounter more of them while fishing for largemouth bass as the years pass. They are already being found by anglers and fisheries survey biologists in Loch Raven and Liberty reservoirs. 

Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays

There are a lot of exciting fishing opportunities this week for anglers in the vicinity of Ocean City. Surf anglers are catching large northward migrating striped bass along the beaches of Assateague. Most of the striped bass being caught must be released because they exceed the slot size of 34 inches, but they are providing many the catch of a lifetime. Clearnose skates are pesky bait stealers so bring plenty of bait. Anglers are using sand fleas in hopes of targeting black drum, but others are using cut menhaden or mullet to target the striped bass and bluefish. Anglers using small baits of bloodworms or artificial bloodworm baits are catching the first kingfish of the season.

At the Ocean City Inlet, anglers are catching a mix of bluefish and striped bass by casting soft plastic jigs, bucktails and Got-Cha type lures. Most of the striped bass are coming up a little short of the minimum 28 inches but are providing plenty of fun catch-and-release fishing. Tautog are in residence at the jetty rocks, bulkheads and bridge piers. The tautog season in Maryland closes May 16 and will not reopen until July 1, with a limit of two tautog per day until October 31. Sand fleas have been the preferred bait, and the change of the tide usually offers the best tautog fishing success. 

The warm waters of the coastal bays are drawing flounder in from the ocean and anglers are enjoying good to excellent flounder fishing in the channels leading from the inlet. There are many throwbacks being reported but most anglers can put good catches of flounder exceeding the 16-inch minimum. On June 1, the minimum length for flounder will bump up to 17.5 inches and the catch limit will remain four flounder per person. 

Anglers continue to enjoy good fishing for striped bass near the bridge piers of the Route 90 and Verrazzano bridges. The best action is occurring during the early morning and late evening hours. Casting paddletails is the most popular way to fish near the bridge piers and nearby marsh edges. 

Anglers fishing the offshore wreck and reef sites are eagerly anticipating the opening of the Maryland black sea bass season which opens May 15 and extends through September 30. The daily limit is 15 sea bass per day at a minimum of 13 inches each. On this unique day of May 15, anglers will also be able to add tautog to their catch, on the last day of that season. The tautog season closes May 16 and will not reopen until July 1 through October 31 with a daily limit of two fish per day at 16 inches each. 

The offshore canyon waters are still a little too cool to welcome the season’s first offshore species, but it will not be too long before a Gulfstream warm water eddy will bring them within reach of the Ocean City fleet. Right now, deep dropping for golden and blueline tilefish and swordfish is the only game in town.